Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz spent the morning of Feb. 24 skipping from one interview to the next, part of a media blitz in the last week of his 2020 election campaign. Most of the interviews took place in his election headquarters in Tel Aviv, in a well-equipped studio mockup of the prime minister’s office. The warmly lit set was decorated with an Israeli flag, shelves of neatly arranged books and a desk covered with family photos.
But now, less than a week away from the March 2 election, Gantz’ path to prime minister seems particularly unlikely. Throughout the election campaign, the Blue and White party has kept a steady lead over the Likud and maintained its position as the biggest party. But polls released early this week by the two major television networks seemed to show a very different trend. The Likud was now ahead, with Blue and White losing anywhere from two to four seats.
